1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to an automatic fire extinguishing apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus which locates a fire in a room and directs a stream of water or other agent from a nozzle at the fire for extinguishing it.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automatic sprinkler installations are common in both residential and commercial establishments and are frequently mandated by local fire codes. However these sprinkler installations consist merely of a plurality of water nozzles set off by mechanical heat sensors. Because these types of heat sensors are slow and inefficient, by the time the fire is detected it has usually spread over a large area causing injuries and property damage before it is extinguished. Additionally, a fire is much more difficult to extinguish after it has spread then at its inception. Fire detectors are also known which detect a fire by using heat and/or light sensors. However these types of detectors are used commonly merely to set off fire alarms and not to extinguish the fire itself. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,665,440; 3,493,953; 3,689,773 and 3,824,392 show various state of the art detectors.